A Taste of Home
by perfectlyrose
Summary: Rose is working as a waitress to make enough money to continue her travels when a strange man in brown pinstripes comes into the diner and nothing is ever quite the same. Ten/Rose AU


Ten/Rose, AU

Rating: All Ages

Word Count: 4753

Summary: Rose is working as a waitress to make enough money to continue her travels when a strange man in brown pinstripes comes into the diner and nothing is ever quite the same.

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Doctor Who. I am just playing with the characters because they play with my emotions.

* * *

Rose put her hands on her lower back and stretched, trying to ignore the ache that was building there. Still had three hours until her shift was over and she could go collapse in her flat. The diner was mostly empty, 4:00 am not being a popular time to eat. Rose had already checked to make sure all of the condiment containers were filled, tables were wiped, and silverware sets wrapped. All of her extra duties were done for the time being, and the one occupied table in the place was taken by a university student scribbling out notes on papers strewn across the surface. She'd refilled his coffee five times already in the last two hours. She was about to swing by to see if he needed anything when the bell above the door rang, announcing a new customer.

A tall man in a brown pinstriped suit breezed in the door and gave a quick glance around the room before sliding into a booth by the door. Rose grabbed a menu and bustled over to the table. Up close, she couldn't help but notice the man was attractive and not the usual sort they got in here at all, at least not during the graveyard shift that she typically worked. She got students and drunks and truckers for the most part, not attractive men in suits with what looked like rather great hair. Putting a friendly smile on, Rose slid the menu on the table in front of the man and opened her mouth to introduce herself and tell him the breakfast special of the day.

Before she could though, he started talking without looking at the menu, choosing to meet her eyes instead. "Hello…" he glanced at her nametag before continuing, "Rose, I've been told this diner makes the best banana pancakes in the whole state." He leaned towards her, a conspiratorial glimmer in his eyes, "Can you tell me if that's true?"

Rose blinked at him for a moment, thrown off for a moment by the rush of words and the accent. After two months of being surrounded by various American accents, hearing the familiar Estuary tumble out of a mouth other than hers shocked her. "Can't say I've ever tried the banana pancakes but I know Alonso makes fantastic pancakes so I wouldn't be surprised." She grinned at him, sticking her tongue between her teeth as his mouth dropped open at her accent.

"Didn't think I'd run across a fellow Londoner in an interstate diner in upstate New York of all places. New York City, I wouldn't be surprised but this is a couple hours out. So how'd you end up working in this particular dingy diner in the States?"

Apparently, spitting out streams of words at high speeds was his usual mode of operation. "Oi, the diner is not 'dingy.' Just cleaned it, ta. Plus there's a town just outside so it's not just an interstate diner, it's part of the community" She shot him a glare. He met it with the most effective puppy dog eyes she'd ever seen. Rose didn't stand a chance against the pleading brown eyes and gave him a small smile.

Knowing he'd won, a small smirk played across his face. "Doesn't answer my question of how you ended up here."

Rose caught a glimpse of the college student from the corner of her eye waving her down for another cup of coffee. "Tell ya what, you decide what you want to eat and then _maybe_ I'll tell you what a London girl like me is doing here in New York." With that, she spun around and walked off, savoring the glimpse of his surprised face she'd seen.

After refilling the student's cup, Rose walked up to the pinstriped man's table, order pad already in hand. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "Now, what can I get ya?"

"Tall stack of banana pancakes with whipped cream on top." He answered quickly.

"Anything to drink?"

"Is there anything that can possibly pass as a cup of tea here?"

"Only when I'm working," Rose said with a wink.

"Well, I'll have a cuppa then." He grinned at her.

"Alrigh', I'll go put your order in so you can see if these are the best banana pancakes in the state or not and start making your tea."

She turned towards the kitchen door and was a few steps away.

"Rose, you're going to come back and tell me your story, right?" She looked back and there was an unusually vulnerable look on his face, like he expected her to say no.

"Said I would, didn't I?" She gave him another tongue-in-teeth grin just get him to smile again. "Tea first though. Don't go disappearing before I get back, mister!" She teased as she pushed the kitchen door open.

Six minutes later, Rose was sliding into a seat across from Pinstripes, as she'd taken to calling him in her head since she didn't know his name, with a mug of tea for each of them. She fixed hers in the kitchen but she'd brought out a small glass of milk as well in case he wanted some. Two sugars and a splash of milk later, he brought the mug to his lips and took a healthy gulp, humming in pleasure as it hit his taste buds.

"I'd almost forgotten what a decent cup of tea tasted like. Thank you." His smile this time was a quieter affair and Rose felt a warmth in her chest at seeing it.

"I think I promised you a story, yeah?" Rose took a sip of her own tea, settling into the seat after glancing at the student who was still the only other customer. "Well, I grew up on the Powell Estate but I was always dreaming about escaping, about getting out and seeing the world. So when a boy told me that he was my ticket out, stupid, naïve me believed 'im. Dropped out of school and put my savings towards his band, thinking that they would make it big and would take me with them. Took me three months before I realized that they weren't even playing gigs anymore. Tried to get my money back, got a black eye for my trouble and went crawling back to my mum. Worked in a shop for a few years, trying to save up enough money to get out of there. When the shop blew up, my mum had me file for compensation since I was barely out of the building when it went up. Got enough to reach my goal as well as leave some for my mum. She tried her hardest to talk me out of it, but I bought a one way ticket from London to New York and packed my bags. Spent a day in the city once I got here but I knew I couldn't afford it so I hopped a bus. It stopped here and the diner was hiring, so here I am. Out in the big wide world, working to get the money to travel somewhere else." Rose leaned forward, her eyes sparkling. "I want to see everything, meet interesting people, have adventures. That's what gets me through these shifts, knowing that the money is mostly going into my travel fund."

"Order up!" Alonso's call rang through the diner, and Rose hopped up to grab Pinstripes' food. She slid the pancakes onto the table and prepared to walk away, starting to feel embarrassed that she'd just revealed her entire story to a complete stranger. A stranger that she had started to think would be difficult to shut up but had kept quiet during her whole story and afterwards. He probably thought she was ridiculous; just a chav with dreams bigger than her wallet and her station. That's what everyone back home thought, even her mum sometimes. Why would he be any different? He was just too damn easy to talk to. She could feel tears starting to sting the back of her eyes. Stupid stupid stupid. She'd never learn.

"Rose?" Pinstripes' voice interrupted her internal diatribe. "Do you want to sit with me for a bit while I eat?" He gave her the puppy dog eyes again. She hesitated and his whole face drooped a bit. "Only if you want to of course, if you're not too busy."

She offered him a small smile before asking him to give her just a minute. The student in the corner was packing up his stuff so she brought him a cup of coffee to go and his check. After collecting his payment, pocketing the tip, and cleaning up the table, Rose slid back into Pinstripes' booth.

He was in the middle of a bite of his pancakes but that didn't stop him from talking. "These are _brilliant_! Definitely the best banana pancakes I've tasted."

Rose smiled but it was strained, still highly aware that he hadn't reacted at all to her story earlier.

The man finished chewing his pancakes, took a sip of tea and started talking in his rapid-fire way again.

"My story's a bit like yours, at least in the 'doing anything I could to get out of London' way. Don't have any family to hold me there anymore and I always wanted to see the world. It's brilliant that you made it all the way out here, whole other country. Feels like another planet sometimes." He trailed off and grinned before taking another massive bite of his food.

"So what do you do? Just go around the world searchin' for banana pancakes?" Rose asked, warming up to him again.

"Can't say that _isn't_ what I do but it's certainly not all I do." He leaned forward like he was about to impart a great secret. "I like to fancy myself an adventurer."

"I'll bet you do." Rose shot back, laughing. Of course the fit guy in a nice suit was a nutter. She should've known really, what with him coming into the diner at four in the morning for banana pancakes and chatting up the night shift waitress. He was nice though, hadn't made fun of her, so she decided to indulge him. "What kind of adventures do you have?"

With that his mouth was off and running, stopping only to scarf down a few bites of pancakes every now and then. He wove stories of helping to rebuild wells in India and getting lost in the Turkish countryside. He said he spent the night in the catacombs of Paris and had to run from the police when they stumbled upon him down there. He was in the middle of a story where he'd helped rescue a girl who had gotten lost in the woods in Germany only to insult the town's most respected citizen and how he had to stage an escape when the bell above the door rang, jolting Rose out of the magical life the man in front of her had been describing.

"Sorry," she said with a quick smile as she slid out of the booth. "Duty calls."

She could feel his eyes on her as she got the order of the truck driver who'd stumbled in with a desperate need for coffee and greasy food. When she turned back to face Pinstripes, he shot her a megawatt grin and motioned her over.

"Can I get you anythin' else?" She asked when she got there.

"Nope!" he popped the 'p', "Just the check please, Rose."

Rose tore the ticket off her pad and left it on the table, telling him she'd be right back. The trucker already needed a coffee refill so she filled him up and turned around to see Pinstripes about to open the door to leave.

"Wait!" she called, trying to get him to stop. She probably looked ridiculous, standing in the middle of the diner with a kitschy waitress uniform on and a pot of coffee in her hand, but she couldn't quite care. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor." He shot her a grin and an outrageous wink before walking out the door, and presumably out of her life, with a ring of the bell.

Feeling unaccountably disappointed that he'd left, she put the coffee away and went to go collect the money he'd left on the table. On the back of the ticket he'd scribbled a note. It took her a moment to decipher his handwriting.

_Rose-_

_Thanks for the little taste of home with the tea and for telling me your story and listening to mine. Best of luck with your travels, hope this helps you get on the road again soon._

_See you out in the world,_

_The Doctor_

When she finished reading, Rose scrambled to count the money he'd left underneath the ticket. The green bills were still slightly confusing to her since they were all the same size and color but even with her hands shaking she recognized the currency he'd left.

There was a $100 bill in her hands. Plus the exact change for his meal. He'd left a one hundred tip on an eight dollar meal. A $100 tip so that she could continue travelling and live her dream. Well that explained why he left so quickly, didn't want to be thanked. She had a feeling he'd done the same in all the places he'd helped out that he had told her about. Rose carefully tucked the $100 bill into her bra so there was no chance of her losing it and began clearing his table.

Rose practically floated through the remaining two hours of her shift. Her mind was on the strange man who called himself the Doctor, not on the smattering of customers coming in. The Doctor had waltzed into her life for an hour and then disappeared, leaving her the means to do the same thing sometime soon. _Things like this don't happen in real life_. That's all she could think as she served coffee and breakfast. At seven she finally was able to hang up her apron and head to the dodgy motel she was currently staying at. She put the money in her safe box and hid it again before collapsing into bed, still in her uniform, dreams of new places and men in brown pinstripes spinning in her head as she surrendered to sleep.

* * *

Rose started her next shift in a much cheerier attitude than she had in weeks. She'd spent the time in between waking up and walking to the diner researching what she wanted to do with her money and where she might like to go next. Humming to herself, Rose started refilling containers since the waitresses who had worked the earlier shift had failed to do so before leaving. Her feet and back still hurt, but she had _plans_ now. Well, sort-of plans. She'd figured out if she worked another month and a half here at the diner, she'd have enough money to buy a cheap used car. Once she had that she could go anywhere in the US. The Doctor's stories had inspired her. She wanted to dive headfirst into whatever situation she landed in and talk to people and figure out why they're where they are and what they want to do. Maybe she'll end up in a small town, maybe she'll get lost in the streets of a big city but either way, Rose was practically vibrating with the excitement thrumming through her veins at the thought of travelling again. She wanted to see the Doctor again, to thank him not only for the money, but for reigniting her desire to just _go_.

Okay, if she was going to be completely honest with herself, and she might as well be since it was likely she had seen the last of the Doctor, travelling man that he was, she wanted to do more than just thank him. She wanted to sit down and talk to him again. He'd told her about his adventures but she didn't know anything about who he was as a person. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that he seemed to have perfected the art of talking all the time without actually saying anything and the more she wanted to know why. What made him tick? What was his story? Rose just wanted to get to know him.

By the time four am rolled around, Rose's thoughts about the Doctor were bordering on obsessive. Completely normal to obsess over an attractive bloke that gave you $100, she rationalized. The diner had been abnormally slow so far tonight and while normally she would be agonizing over the lack of tips, she was glad no one was coming in tonight when her head was somewhere else completely. The bell pulled her out of her own thoughts and she looked up at the door. Standing there, with a mile-wide grin on his face, was the Doctor. He had his hands stuffed in the trouser pockets of a blue pinstriped suit. He rocked back on his heels, his smile getting impossibly bigger as he observed Rose's slack-jaw reaction to his presence.

Before he could make whatever remark was on the tip of his tongue, Rose barreled into him, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. There was a second of him freezing in shock before he wrapped his arms around her, reciprocating the hug enthusiastically. A small happy noise escaped his throat at finding himself with an armful of pink and yellow Rose.

Slowly, she pulled back and extricated herself from his embrace. She opened her mouth to talk but the Doctor beat her to the punch.

"Not that I'm complaining, because I'm not, that was a lovely hug, but I was certainly not expecting that." He rubbed his hand along the back of his neck.

Rose grinned at what appeared to be a nervous habit. "Jus' wanted to say thanks. Not just for the money, but for listening and gettin' me excited about traveling again. I'd kinda gotten into a rut here with working and worrying so much about my next paycheck. It was starting to feel like life back in London."

"Glad I could help, Miss…" he trailed off, looking disconcerted. "I don't think we ever actually introduced ourselves. That was rude of me. Bad habit of mine, being rude."

"Rose Tyler, at your service," Rose replied with a mock curtsey.

"Well then, Miss Tyler," he seemed to caress her name with his voice, causing her to shiver, "let me say it is my utmost pleasure to make your acquaintance and to be of some assistance." He grabbed one of her hands and brought it to his mouth to brush a kiss across her knuckles.

"What's with you being so posh all of a sudden?" Rose questioned, trying desperately not to blush.

From the smug smirk on his face, she wasn't very successful. "Just trying to make up for being rude."

"And yet you haven't told me your name yet."

The Doctor made a face. "I'm the Doctor."

"You like the whole 'mystery man' thing, don't ya?" Rose looked him up and down and then stuck her tongue between her teeth in a teasing smile. "Gotta say it works for you, so I'll let it slide for now."

The Doctor's eyes had locked onto her mouth and the bit of tongue on display and it took him a moment to drag his eyes up to meet hers.

"Why don't you pick a seat and I can see about getting you some more tea and pancakes."

"Brilliant idea, Rose Tyler! I wasn't joking when I said these were the best banana pancakes I've tried. Not the reason I stayed in town though." He moved to take a seat at the counter and Rose went behind it so she could write down his order and hand it off to Alonso.

"Must've stayed for my talent for making a perfect cuppa then," she threw him a wink over her shoulder as she handed the ticket with his order through the kitchen door.

"Weellll, not quite." He leaned forward, elbows propped up on the counter. "You see, there was this intriguing waitress at the diner who was a long way from home and had a wanderlust a bit like mine. Couldn't seem to forget about her so I thought, what the hell," he paused and swallowed hard, like he was trying to get up the courage to say something. "I'll go back and…" he took a deep breath, paused, and the determination drained out of his face before he continued, "talk to her some more."

Rose could tell that wasn't what he was planning on saying but decided not to push it yet. She was still over the moon that he had come back at all. "Well then, I think you're in luck because I _believe_ she's working tonight." Neither of them could wipe the smiles off their faces. "Give me a mo' to go make some tea. Don't go running off while I'm in the kitchen."

"Yes ma'am." He winked at her and she laughed as she closed the kitchen door.

When she came out holding two steaming mugs of tea, he immediately tucked the phone he'd been typing on back into his pocket. She set one in front of him, already made the way he liked it.

"Oh, Rose Tyler, you are brilliant!" he enthused, his smile turning a bit tender. "You remember how I take my tea, I'm flattered."

"Might've been the tiniest bit _intrigued_ by the strange bloke who insisted on banana pancakes and had stories of adventures."

"Oi! Don't knock the banana pancakes, they are divine," he teased.

"Anyways," Rose said, changing the subject before he could start rambling about the banana pancakes as it looked like he might, "do you normally go to diners at four in the morning or is this a new thing for you?"

"Well, I might have a slight tendency to eat at strange times. Don't sleep much and I got into town late last night and decided to come try the pancakes straight away since the diner was open. So I wouldn't say it's normal for me to go to diners at four am, but it's not an unusual occurrence either. In fact just a few weeks ago there was this fantastic little place-" He clicked his mouth shut when he realized Rose's increasingly amused face was due to his rambling.

Rose tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, glancing down at the counter. "'m glad you have weird eating habits and came in here, Doctor. 'm just glad I met you." She could feel her cheeks heating up at the admission, feeling unusually shy.

He reached across the counter and put a hand on top of hers where they were clenched together. Her eyes shot up at the contact, meeting his. "Me too," he said softly. His smile was just as shy as hers, and that was something she hadn't considered, that he was just as nervous about these unprecedented feelings as she was behind all of that manic energy.

Rose heard Alonso call the Doctor's order and slipped her hands out from beneath his to go get his food. When she returned, she sat with him while he ate and stole bites of his pancakes, discovering that banana pancakes were in fact delicious. They chatted about anything and everything; his travels, her childhood, their dreams for the future and their biggest fears. He never talked about his life before he started travelling though, and when Rose asked, his face went blank.

"There's no one anymore. They're all gone and it's my fault."

Rose could see the despair rising in his eyes, tinged with a hint of madness, and she realized he wasn't just travelling, he was running. She didn't say anything, just slipped her hand into his, intertwining their fingers. He closed his eyes and let out a huge breath, squeezing her hand at the same time. When the brown orbs reappeared, the darkness was hidden once more and he offered her a smile. Rose gladly returned it before turning the conversation to something more innocuous.

The Doctor stayed long after he finished eating, talking to her whenever she wasn't helping the few others who wandered into the diner. He told her all about the car he'd bought at the beginning of his travels that went everywhere with him, even across oceans. He'd named it Tardis after some slang word he'd encountered on one of his first adventures. The locals kept referring to him and his car as the word and he didn't know the language. He sheepishly admitted that he still didn't know what it meant; he just liked how it sounded.

Rose told him her plan to buy a car to start her travels with and he grinned, telling her it was a brilliant plan. (She started to realize that he used the word brilliant a lot.)

When Rose's shift was finally over, the Doctor paid his bill, tipping well again, and walked out of the diner hand in hand with her. Outside, in the early light of pre-dawn, Rose squeezed his hand, let it go, and turned to face him.

"I guess this is goodbye then. I know you don't usually stay in one place very long, I'm just glad you stayed long enough for me to get to know you a bit," Rose talked quickly, trying to get everything she wanted to say out. "I'm lucky you had a craving for banana pancakes and that you have a thing for talking to waitresses." She laughed, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Jus', thank you, Doctor. For being you and talking to me."

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair before speaking. "Doesn't have to be goodbye, Rose Tyler." He took a deep breath, like he was bracing himself for something. "Youcouldcomewithmeifyouwant." He rushed all the words together.

Rose laughed. She'd gotten used to his rapid fire speech but that had to have been a record. "Wha' was that? Didn't quite catch it."

He grabbed her hand like it was a lifeline. "I said you could come with me. You know, if you wanted."

He looked so nervous and Rose wanted to reassure him, but her mouth was hanging open and she couldn't get her voice to work. The silence continued for a few more moments, the Doctor's face becoming more closed off with every second. He started trying to backtrack, dropping her hand and backing up a step. "I mean, it was just an idea. Obviously, a stupid one. Sorry, I didn't mean…" He trailed off when Rose smiled. "Rose?"

"Don't think I ever said no, did I?" she asked, closing the distance he'd put between them.

He swallowed hard. "No?"

She stepped closer again and put her arms around his neck, playing with the hair on the back of his neck, pulling his face closer to hers. There was something awfully close to hope shining in his eyes. Rose closed the distance and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to his lips before retreating a couple inches. A giggle escaped when the Doctor, eyes closed, tried to chase after her mouth.

He opened his eyes, looking a bit dazed. "Does that mean yes? Because I'm really hoping that means yes."

"Yes, you daft man, I want to come with you." She replied, her eyes shining.

"Brilliant!" He pulled her in for a decidedly less chaste kiss.

"Hey, Rose, you're scaring off the customers!" The voice from the door of the diner startled the couple, causing them to break the kiss a minute or so after it started. One of the waitresses on the morning shift was leaning in the doorways grinning at them. "I'm happy for you but seriously, take it somewhere else."

Rose blushed when she realized they'd been giving everyone in the diner a bit of a show. "Sally, if you could tell the boss that I won't be comin' back, that'd be great."

She made eye contact with the Doctor and a grin grew on her face to match his. Before Sally could answer, he grabbed her hand. "Allons-y, Rose!" he whispered in her ear before tugging her along with him away from the diner.

"But where are you going?" Sally called after them, bewildered.

Laughing, they ran down the street, hand in hand, off to find new adventures together.


End file.
